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The Malaysian car market has another solid month in March at 61,313 registration. First Quarter 2011 figures are up 8% year-on-year at 153,643 units. The Perodua Myvi is #1 again this month at 14% share, followed by the Proton Saga at 13.1% and the Perodua Viva at a slightly weaker than usual 9.8%.

The Proton Persona is in good shape at #4 with 8.2%, same for the Mitsubishi Triton at #11 with 1.8%. The Proton Inspira slips down to 1.8% compared to 2.4% last month. Duty-free prices have made hybrid cars more affordable this year in Malaysia and the effect is immediate: the Honda Insight jumps 18 spots this month to #14 at 896 sales and 1.5%.

* Many thanks to Matthias from Germany who made this post’s update possible! *

The Albanian car market is very particular, with as much as 1 in every 3 cars in circulation in Tirana and Durres second-hand Mercedes. The best selling new cars are also unique: a mix of luxury SUV’s dominated by the Range Rover, BMW X5, Mercedes M-Class, Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Sport and Mercedes GL-Class!

Only then normal passenger cars follow, among them the Chevrolet Aveo, Fiat Punto, VW Golf and Opel Corsa. A few models have Albania as their only European port of call like the VW Gol, Chery QQ and Toyota Avanza… So a very interesting market indeed.

This rough speculation is based on Matthias’s observations in the streets of Tirana and Durres. Thanks again Matthias!

Last week was not a fluke, the Dacia Duster confirms it is now a force to be reckoned with in the French market and a serious contender for the 2011 podium. During the week of 12 to 18 April, the Duster is the 2nd best selling car in France with 1,474 sales and a stable 3.6% share, a full percentage point above it March level.

The Renault Megane takes the lead this week at 3.8%. The Renault Clio drops to #3, followed by the Peugeot 207 and a VW Polo confirming its exceptional strength at 3% share, down from 3.1% and #3 last week. The Peugeot 3008 is up to #7 at 2.8%.

* 23 new posts have been uploaded – click on ‘Read more’ below for the direct links *

Historical info back to 1983 is now available for Europe! I have also added every Monthly Top 10 from 1996 to 1999 and from 2005 onwards, so you can see the complete evolution of the market over the years.

Out of the last 28 years, the VW Golf was the best selling car on the continent for no less than 24 years, with only four other cars holding the pole position at year-end: the Fiat Punto in 1997, Peugeot 206 in 2003, Opel Astra in 2006 and Peugeot 207 in 2007.

The Peugeot 206 was #1 in Europe in 2003

If you go into the detail of each month, then a few more cars managed to lead the European market for that amount of time: the Renault Megane, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Renault Clio and Opel Corsa all ranked #1 at some stage over the last 20 years.

Click on ‘Read more’ below for the direct links to these 23 new posts.

* Now updated with the Top 50 best selling models over Q1 2011. See ‘Read more’ below *

Italian car sales are down a worrying 28% year-on-year in March at 187,774 units. First Quarter figures are down 23% at 513,794 registrations.

Both the Fiat Punto at 7.5% (14.035 sales) and the Fiat Panda at 6.7% (12,640 sales) improve their market shares compared to last month and continue to dominate the Italian market. The Ford Fiesta jumps onto the podium for the 2nd time in 3 months at 8,082 units and 4.3%, followed by the VW Golf at 3.3% and the Lancia Ypsilon at 2.8%.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta confirms its outstanding popularity once again and places 8th, its third month in a row in the Top 10. It sells 4,166 units for a 2.2% market share this month. Notice also the Audi A1 in the Top 30 at #29.

* Now with the Top 65 best selling models in Q1 2011: click on ‘Read more’ at end of post *

At 93,984 registrations, Australian car sales are down just 1% year-on-year in March. The Holden Commodore stays #1 at 4,170 sales and 4.4%, but the 2011 leader is still the Mazda3 at 11,159 units and 4.5%, thanks to another strong month at 3,979 sales and 4.2% in March (#3).

The Toyota Hilux takes the 2nd place only 140 sales behind the Commodore. Just behind the Toyota Corolla, the Holden Cruze is up 1 spot at #5 with a strong 3% share, and the Mitsubishi Triton is up to a brilliant 8th position. The Lexus CT (223 sales) and the Toyota FJ Cruiser (209) both appear for the first time in the Australian ranking.

March 2011 will also be remembered as the month Chinese brand Chery started in the country, launching the first Chinese passenger cars in Australia. The Chery J11 SUV (aka Tiggo) delivers 166 sales and the J1 (aka Face) lands 53 buyers. In the meantime the Great Wall V240 ute continues to grow, #64 in Q1 at 989 sales.

A few new models perform well in Q1: the Ford Fiesta is #17, the Hyundai ix35 #28, the Nissan Dualis multiplies its share by two at 1% and #31, the Mistubishi ASX is #50 and the VW Polo #57. With the discontinuation of the the Falcon model last year, the Ford Mondeo is now the default Ford station wagon and is up to #39.

According to Dacia’s Facebook page, the Dacia Duster was the best selling car in France during the week of April 5th to April 11th! This is confirmed by official data published by French car weekly Auto Plus. The Duster leads with 1,251 sales and 3.6% share, ahead of the Renault Clio at 1,177 units and the VW Polo at 1,086.

This is an exceptional achievement by the French/Romanian SUV after it broke into the Top 10 for the first time and achieved its best ever month in France in March in 7th place with 6,634 units and 2.6% share. These records look like they will be obsolete by the end of the month. It is the first time a ‘terrain’ vehicle ever tops French car sales.

Only a handful of models have topped the French weekly charts in the last 5 years: the Peugeot 207, Renault Clio, Renault Twingo, Citroen C3, Dacia Sandero and Peugeot 308 have done so. The Duster is therefore the 7th model to shine and the second Dacia.